


Shutterstruck

by togekissies



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Photographer, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-04-05 16:58:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4187682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/togekissies/pseuds/togekissies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“There’s beauty in everything, Bokuto. It’s the job of a photographer to capture it.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shutterstruck

**Author's Note:**

  * For [milkberry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkberry/gifts).



> hi! thank you for your amazing prompt, it really inspired me to create a story i enjoy. unfortunately i'm not the fastest writer so i ran out of time finishing the entire fic, so i'm just posting my favorite scene from it for now. i'll post the rest when i finish it, which may take a while, sorry about that.
> 
> i didn't exactly make a model au, but i hope a photographer/actor au is close enough!

Keiji watches as the shadows sink low over the wall opposite him and curses the day he decided it wouldn’t be too bad to give Bokuto his number. His second mistake was checking his phone during lunch. Otherwise he could honestly say he missed Bokuto’s _please meet me after work today please please please its important_ text and be happily and ignorantly home by now.

Everyone else in the photography studio has left, but the film studio is still alive with noise. Bokuto is having one of his off days, that much is obvious, and they’re extremely behind schedule. Yachi and Hinata keep loudly encouraging him while Bokuto despairs. The only voice Keiji hasn’t heard from behind those closed doors is Shimizu’s, and that kind of frightens him. He can picture her cutting into Bokuto after he flubs another take with calm, cold words, and it makes him thankful he doesn’t have to work with them.

That doesn’t explain why he’s still at work an hour after he was dismissed, though. He keeps telling himself to go home, but his feet don’t move.

It doesn’t take long for the light from the sun to turn pink, and he can hear them wrapping up. Shimizu and Yachi exit the studio first.

“A-are we going to film tomorrow?” Yachi asks, trying to juggle the film reel she's holding while she writes a report on the clipboard in her other hand.

“No,” Shimizu says, her voice sounding strained. “He’s booked tomorrow.” She takes the film from Yachi and offers her a kind smile. Keiji has never seen that expression on her face before, and it makes him itch for a camera. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out. You go home and relax, okay?”

Yachi nods vigorously, and Shimizu pats her arm before walking into Hanamaki’s office. Yachi is still standing in front of the studio doors and Keiji awkwardly wonders if he should say hello when Hinata bursts through, nearly colliding with her.

“Sorry!” he says loudly, catching the pen she throws in the air in surprise. He hands it back and she sputters out her thanks. “I did what you said and I told Bokuto I’d treat him to dinner but he said he was busy.” Hinata frowns. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

“I don’t know...” Yachi bites on the cap of the pen, then hurriedly takes it away from her mouth like she just noticed people are watching. “This has happened before, right?”

Hinata shrugs, and then two of them head down the hallway to the exit. “I got here not long before you did, but I guess so. I just wanna know what the heck he’s busy with.”

They walk right past Keiji without noticing him leaning against the wall. He doesn’t bother to bring attention to himself. He’s been curious about the moodswings of Bokuto’s he was told about when he was first hired, but now he’s not so sure he wants to experience one.

Yachi and Hinata continue to chatter, but Keiji stops paying attention because the studio doors open once more and Bokuto steps in the hallway. He sighs deeply, his head bowed low, and Keiji finds that he’s concerned. Quiet and dejected doesn’t suit Bokuto. Keiji pushes off the wall the very second Bokuto spots him. He brightens. “You’re still here!” he says, then he deflates again.

Keiji would like to know if he were this mopey when he sent the text. “I’m still here,” he repeats. “What is it that you need?”

Another thing he’s never known Bokuto to be is nervous, but when he shuffles his feet and scratches the back of his head he can’t think of anything else he would be. “So, you know I have that photoshoot tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah,” Keiji says, surprised that he’s bringing it up. “I’m the photographer, Bokuto, of course I know.”

Bokuto takes a deep breath. He speaks quickly, and it sounds like he’s been rehearsing what to say in his head. “Well I mean I understand that they want to expand advertising and that Hanamaki thinks my character is popular enough to do billboards and stuff along with commercials but I don’t think I’m suited for it at all!”

Keiji blinks. “You’re worried about the shoot?”

Bokuto nods.

“Why?”

“Because I’m only really good at moving around and being excited,” Bokuto mumbles to his feet. “In stills I just look... goofy.”

“You look goofy right now, too.”

“Hey!”

Keiji shrugs his bag off his shoulder and gently places it on the ground. He unzips it and digs under the case for the high-tech camera he uses for work and pulls out the old 35mm camera his parents gave him for his birthday when he was in high school. “I knew there was a reason I brought this today,” he says to himself, and then to Bokuto: “We’ll have a photoshoot right now, to get you used to it.”

“What, what! Weren’t you listening, that isn’t my problem at all, Akaashi!”

“There’s beauty in everything, Bokuto. It’s the job of a photographer to capture it.” Keiji says, calmly picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

Bokuto starts doing his exaggeratingly embarrassed act Keiji has seen in a few of his commercials. He waves one hand in front of him, rubs his neck with the other, and says, “Are you saying I’m beautiful, Akaashi?”

Annoyed, Keiji lifts his camera to his eye and snaps a picture. Bokuto yelps when he hears the shutter go off. “This is going in my gallery,” Keiji says, “I’m going to title it, ‘My coworker being weird’.”

“No, don’t do that!”

“I won’t,” he promises, turning to the photography studio to hide his smile. The door is locked, but since Keiji was the last one out, he has the key. Bokuto hovers while he unlocks and opens the door.

“Are you sure we can use this place?” Bokuto asks, sneaking into the studio.

Keiji has no idea. “Yes,” he says. Hanamaki is unlikely to be angry, he rationalizes. He’d probably find it hilarious.

Everything in the studio has been put away for the night, and part of Keiji is loathe to undo the work he did not that long ago. Still, setting up one light is easier than four or five, and props would probably just make Bokuto more nervous, so Keiji just sets out a stool in front of the backdrop and rolls a lamp over. “Everything will be set up tomorrow,” Keiji explains to a confused Bokuto, “but you don’t need much for simple pictures.”

“What do you need me to do?” Bokuto asks. He swings his arms back and forth and his eyes keep darting around the room.

“Just relax.” Bokuto frowns, but Keiji speaks before he can even open his mouth. “Take your time. This isn’t serious at all, we’re basically hanging out like normal.”

“Hanging out at work,” Bokuto says, grinning. “A couple of losers who haven’t gone home yet.”

Keiji snaps another picture of him and says, “Yeah, like that.”

Bokuto sits on the stool, kicks his feet, and Keiji can’t tell if it’s his usual inability to sit still or if he’s still nervous. “So we can just—talk?”

“Not tomorrow, probably,” he says, thinking about how annoyed Tsukishima will be with Bokuto chattering away. “But I’ll be giving you directions, like making some of your weird poses or something. You can easily pretend no one else will be there.”

Bokuto deflates, sinking his head into his hands. “Oh no oh no I forgot everyone’s going to be there—”

Keiji’s dealt with nervous and stiff subjects before, but normally they’re under the age of ten and easily distracted by a toy placed on top of the camera. He has a feeling wiggling a toy would distract Bokuto too, but he always hated that part of his job and doesn’t have anything like that on hand, so he has to think of another way to deal with him.

He thinks about it for a few seconds, then acts before he can talk himself out of it. “Scoot over,” he says, bumping Bokuto with his hip in the same motion until there’s enough stool for him to sit on. The stool isn’t nearly large enough for the two of them so they both have to brace themselves against the floor with their feet, but Bokuto’s attention is focused on him now.

“Hey!” Bokuto says, offended. “I’d push you back if you weren’t holding that camera.”

“That’s good, because you’re going to be the photographer for a bit.”

“Wait, what?”

He’s probably not going to understand what all the focusing knobs do, so Keiji just points to the shutter button on the top. “Look through here, then press this button to take a picture. If things look weird or blurry let me know and I’ll fix it.”

Bokuto takes the camera delicately, and then he nearly drops it. “It’s heavy!” he says, and Keiji thinks he probably should have mentioned that. He expects Bokuto will sit for a while longer and inspect it, but he swings around and takes a picture in Keiji’s general direction with no warning.

“That’s going to be a masterpiece,” he says dryly.

“I know!” Bokuto hops up, off the stool, and spins around to point the camera at Keiji again. He catches Keiji adjusting so he’s sitting more comfortably on the stool, and then gets him frowning at being photographed looking so awkward. “Is this what you feel like all the time?” Bokuto asks, pointing the camera around the room to look at things through the lenses. “Wait, how do you know these aren’t going to turn out too dark? It’s pretty dark in here.”

“By adjusting the exposure.”

“Expose-what?” Bokuto spins around fully to look at him.

Keiji clasps his hands together, thinking of how to explain simply. “I can make the shutters open for longer, which makes the pictures brighter since more light is hitting the film.”

“Oooooh.” Bokuto takes another couple pictures of him, and Keiji realizes he’s been twisting his fingers around and stills his hands. “How do you know how long they have to be open?”

“Experience.”

Bokuto makes a face. “That sounds boring! How long have you been taking pictures?”

Keiji isn’t sure when this turned into an interview while Bokuto bouncing around the room with his old camera, but at least he doesn’t seem upset anymore. “Since I was a teenager.”

“And you liked it so much you went to college for it?” Bokuto asks, camera poised.

“Yeah. Photography is... it’s fun.” The camera goes off three times in quick succession as soon as he answers. “Don’t waste all my film, I don’t have an extra roll.”

“Oh, sorry!” Bokuto hands out the camera.

“I didn’t mean that you have to stop.”

“No, it’s fine,” Bokuto waves him off. “I feel better now, so it’s your turn to ask me questions.”

Keiji takes the camera and vacates the stool. Apparently Bokuto managed to knock into the knobs and move them around, making the camera extremely unfocused. The last pictures he took must be nothing but blobs of color. Keiji fixes them, checking the focus by pointing the camera at Bokuto. This time he doesn’t lower it when he’s satisfied.

“What are you advertising tomorrow?” he asks even though he knows the answer.

“A new cell phone model. It’s supposed to be for kids or people rough on their phones so it’s durable.”

“Are you getting one for yourself, then?”

“Hey!” Bokuto pouts. “I’m kind to my phone, okay!”

It’s a good expression, so Keiji takes a picture. “Even if it comes in cool colors?”

“I won’t be convinced and you can’t make me.” Bokuto huffs, crossing his arms and turning his head away in disgust. Keiji recognizes by now when he’s exaggerating for comedic effect, and it makes a great picture.

“What about me? Sell it to me.”

This is a challenge Bokuto didn’t expect, and he sits and ponders for a minute, humming in thought. He snaps his fingers. “I’ve got it! You need this phone so you don’t have to worry about lending it to your accident-prone friends!”

Keiji lowers the camera slowly. “...Who says I’m ever going to lend you my phone?”

“I’m not accident-prone!” Bokuto defends, but he can’t keep up his offended face and starts to laugh. Keiji stomach flutters and he takes a picture, the moment disappearing behind the shutters and locked away on the roll of film.

Keiji finds he doesn’t know what to say next, even though it usually comes easy for him with Bokuto. He takes his camera away from his face and stares at Bokuto, who is smiling at him. “You,” he says, feeling strange, “seem a lot more comfortable now.”

“I guess so. Thanks, Akaashi.” He bounces to his feet and waves to the door. “C’mon, I’ll get you something to eat!”

“You’re done already?”

“It’s late and I’m hungry,” Bokuto says, pouting. “Why, do you think I need more practice?”

Keiji shakes his head. “It’s up to you.”

Bokuto’s face lights up with excitement. “Dinner it is!” He parades his way to the doors, and Keiji lets him go even though he needs to put away the equipment. He’s halfway done with putting away the light when Bokuto scurries back, apologies on his lips.

It doesn’t take long to put the room back to the way it was. Keiji reaches into his camera bag, but instead of putting his 35mm camera away he pulls out a strap and ties it on. “So I don’t have to stop taking pictures,” he explains to Bokuto. “Sometimes I walk home with this just in case I see something I want to photograph.”

“Ooh, how many have you taken?”

Keiji pauses, thinking back. “Not enough,” he says finally.

Bokuto nods thoughtfully, then lightly punches Keiji on the shoulder. “Let’s get going so you can take lots of pictures today! You can use all your film on my handsome face.”

“You were afraid of that twenty minutes ago,” Keiji points out, securing his bag on his back and pulling the studio key out of his pocket. Bokuto follows him through the door, arms waving.

“Hey, I wasn’t afraid! I was... apprehensive!”

“That sounds like something Kuroo would say.”

“Well, he is my best friend.”

The light is off under Hanamaki’s office door, Keiji notices, so they must be the last two in the studio. He locks the studio doors and shoves the key under the office door because he doesn’t want to have to be the first person in tomorrow to unlock it.

It’s still humid and hot outside even though the sun has long set, and Keiji sighs, resigning himself to feeling sticky and gross by the time he gets back to his apartment. Bokuto points down the street Keiji takes to get home. “C’mon, I know a good food cart down here!”

Thankfully Bokuto’s poor sense of direction doesn’t lead them in circles, and he does, in fact, bring them to a food cart. On the way Keiji takes a picture of Bokuto under a streetlight, balancing on a low wall to separate pedestrians from a small garden, then a couple more of him jumping down. During dinner he takes a picture of Bokuto excited over his steaming bowl of meat, another of him fanning himself because it’s too hot out to eat hot food, and one more of him pouting because Keiji refused to share his much cooler meal. Afterwards he takes more pictures than he can count of Bokuto talking so animatedly that his arms are probably going to turn out as blurs.

“How long have you known Kenma?” Bokuto asks. As it gets later and later his energy wanes. Keiji guesses he’s more of a morning person.

“Almost ten years now. We met online in high school.”

“And you guys met in person only this year?” Keiji nods. “That’s so cool!” Bokuto turns to walk backwards so he can face Keiji while they talk. “I’ve known Kuroo for only a couple years, so you win.”

Keiji glances beyond Bokuto. He should probably make sure he’s not going to trip over something. “Technically they win, since they’ve known each other their entire lives.”

“Oh man, you’re right.” Bokuto frowns, pensive. “In that case, we’re just going to have to find something to beat them in!”

“That makes no sense,” Keiji says automatically. “But alright. Sounds fun.”

Bokuto’s face brightens and he grins, his teeth still dazzling white from when he was doing ads for toothpaste. “I knew I could count on you!” he says. Keiji’s chest feels warm, and he takes it as a sign he should photograph this moment, too.

The camera clicks, then whirs when the film winds back into the canister. Keiji looks at it in surprise. “I’m out of film,” he says. He lost track of how many pictures were taken.

“Well, that’s ok!” Bokuto says. “We had fun anyway, right?”

“Right,” Keiji says, glancing away. “Maybe we could develop the film together? I have a darkroom. I mean, later. It’s too late tonight.”

Bokuto blinks, then grins. “That sounds awesome, Akaashi!” he says, his voice a little too loud for a residential area this time of night. “I get to see your apartment!”

“Don’t get too excited, or I’m uninviting you,” Keiji threatens. He pretends to fiddle with his camera for an excuse not to look at Bokuto’s face for a second. He’s normally very peculiar about people in his darkroom and Bokuto isn’t exactly careful when he moves, but he wants to share it with him anyway. He also isn’t sure why his heart is pounding harder than normal when he hasn’t done anything out of the ordinary—

He looks back at Bokuto, who is quietly walking beside him, a smile on his face, and realizes maybe he’s in love with him.

“I’ll be good,” Bokuto says, “promise.”

“I know,” Keiji replies because it’s all he can think of to say. He’s so out of it that he almost doesn’t notice when they turn opposite ways at an intersection.

“My place is down here,” Bokuto says, pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

Keiji nods. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Make sure to get plenty of sleep so Matsukawa doesn’t have to complain about your undereye circles.”

“Yeah, got it, stay up late to annoy Matsukawa. You have the best advice, Akaashi.”

Keiji shakes his head and starts down his street, wishing he had at least one more photo left so he could take a picture of Bokuto waving goodbye.

-

TO: BOKUTO  
I got my film canisters mixed up and developed the one we took together by accident. Sorry.

FROM: BOKUTO  
that’s ok! we can always just take more pictures!

TO: BOKUTO  
Sounds good.

FROM: BOKUTO  
howd the ones i take come out???

TO: BOKUTO  
If I didn’t know you were taking pictures of me, I would have no idea what the subject was.

FROM: BOKUTO  
;°Д°


End file.
